Same insanity, different year and foot, less severe.
So last week I was having trouble walking again. Pain in the pad of my left foot just south of my little toe, in the exact same spot as my adventure last year. Checked it out and I had that weird callous I get on both feet in that spot. Peeled a little bit of it off, but not nearly as much as what caused my last adventure, because that tends to help. Didn’t help. Then Wednesday night I asked Stacie to take a look at it and she said I had a big blood blister going on. OK, great. Ride it out for a few days until it reabsorbs, and I should be good to go as long as it doesn’t pop.
Fifteen minutes later I go to the bathroom, and it pops. Got some nasty, thick, pink gunk out of it, probably a combination of blood and pus. Yeah, that’s a problem. Last year’s adventure started out as an infected hole in my foot, and I just popped another hole in the same gorram spot on the other foot. And I’d have to take a shower sometime, when the shower was a very likely instigating factor in the infection. Cue medical paranoia. Not having a repeat of last year if I can avoid it.
Next morning I call my boss to let her know I’m on my way to Urgent Care to avoid a repeat of last summer. Zero argument from her. Go in, get it looked at, and explain why I’m in Urgent Care for a gorram blood blister, and the doctor is completely on my side. Probably because I know I’ve seen her before and I’m pretty sure she’s the doctor I saw the day my adventure started last year. At the very least, she’d glanced at my medical records. She sends me home with a fresh bandage, prescription for giant-ass antibiotic pills, and orders to set up a follow-up with podiatry.
Follow-up was Tuesday with the head of the department. Good guy, I’ve been seen by him a few times now. He’s kind of like House; he definitely knows his stuff, but doesn’t really do the “Minnesota nice” sugarcoating. When he tells you something, it’s straightforward almost to the point of bluntness. Like to the point where with anyone but him I’d almost be forced to respond with sarcasm. The difference being it isn’t someone stating the patently obvious and acting like they’re all extra erudite, but someone making sure you absolutely understand what’s going on. Which is how I describe problems in my field. Although he swears significantly less in the process.
That rubs some people the wrong way, but I’m all for it. Don’t BS me so my pwecious feewings aren’t hurt and have me think something isn’t all that serious until I come back in and the response is “OK, time to sharpen the good saw.” Tell me “you have this specific issue. It’s serious. Do this, that, and the other thing. If you don’t, you’re getting chopped off at the knee.”
He looked it over, changed the bandage, and told me I’d need custom orthotics. Turns out these problems are caused by pressure sores caused by how I walk, how my shoes fit, and the fact that I’m not exactly dainty. At one point he said something like “this is going to sound silly, but you need your foot.” I agreed and mentioned that before all the issues with my foot and the cellulitis before that I was a hiker, so yeah, having both feet in good working order would be a Good Thing. He said “we’ll have you back to hiking again.” Good to know. Then as we were wrapping up I made a comment that “it looks like my paranoia paid off this time.” Doctor stopped dead in his tracks and said “in your case I won’t call it paranoia,” and said something to the effect of how with my underlying medical problems and history, this was exactly what I should do in this case.
Now I get to have yet another follow-up with podiatry (same guy that handled the wound care after last year’s Happy Fun Time), at least one appointment with a prosthetics place to get the orthotics made, and who knows what else.
So I get another Summer Foot Problems Adventure this year, but so far nobody thinks it’s going to land me in the hostibule again.
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